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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Emerald Bound Blog Tour Day 1

A few weeks ago, Bridging the Gap Promotions ran a blog tour to celebrate the release of my debut novel, Emerald Bound. For anyone that missed the posts or weren't able to follow along, I'm posting them here on my blog.

Here is the post that ran on Day 1 of my blog tour. It first appeared on Reviews by Crystal.

Hi everyone! I’m Teresa Richards and my debut novel, Emerald
Bound is now out in the world. Emerald Bound is a dark YA retelling of the
fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Here’s my super-short twitter pitch so
you can quickly get the gist of it:

A semi-reformed stalker. A down-and-out princess. Together,
they must stop an enchanted, power-hungry emerald.

And, okay, here’s the official blurb in case you want more:

A princess, a pea, and a tower of mattresses. This is the
sliver that survives of a story more nightmare than fairy tale.

Maggie
Rhodes, high school junior and semi-reformed stalker, learns the tale’s true
roots after a spying attempt goes awry and her best friend Kate ends up as the
victim of an ancient curse. At the center of the curse lies an enchanted
emerald that has been residing quietly in a museum for the past fifty years.
Admirers of the gem have no idea that it feeds on life. Or that it’s found its
next victim in Kate.

Enter Lindy, a school acquaintance who knows more than
she’s letting on, and Garon, a handsome stranger claiming he knows how to help,
and Maggie is left wondering who to trust and how to save her best friend
before it’s too late.

If
only Maggie knew her connection to the fairy tale was rooted far deeper than an
endangered best friend.

*

I am so excited for you all to read it! Having my baby out
there is all kinds of terrifying and all kinds of exhilarating, all at the same
time. This is the first stop in my week-long blog tour to celebrate the release
of Emerald Bound. What better way to celebrate than with a little glitz?

One of the earliest scenes I wrote for this book was the one
where Maggie attempts to sneak into the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
in Washington DC to steal the emerald that holds her friend captive. In
preparation to write this scene, I visited the museum to scope everything out.
My favorite area of the museum (Maggie’s favorite as well) was the national gem
collection on the second floor. I based my descriptions of the cursed emerald
that causes so much trouble for my characters on the MacKay emerald necklace,
which I fell in love with during my visit. Here’s a picture of it—isn’t it
gorgeous?

There were so many other amazing jewels there. I don’t wear
much jewelry (aside from earrings—I love earrings), but one visit to the
national gem collection, and I was pining for a giant necklace full of sparkly
rocks.

Here are some of the other gorgeous items on display:

The Victoria-Transvaal Diamond

The Hope Diamond

The Carmen Lucia Ruby

I could go on and on. But I’m sure you’re wondering… is
Maggie successful in her attempt to steal the gorgeous yet cursed national
treasure? Does she get distracted by all of the sparkly things around her and
forget why she’s there? What will happen to her friend if Maggie turns into a
jewel-crazed zombie, ogling the Harry Winstons and French crowned jewels along
with the rest of the museum’s patrons?

Sorry, but I can’t spoil it for you. I just can’t.

But I can tell you I had so much fun taking this fairy tale
and twisting it up to create Emerald Bound. I hope you enjoy reading it as much
as I enjoyed writing it.

Oh, and next time you’re at the Smithsonian, maybe keep your
distance when you’re admiring the emeralds. They’re a sneaky lot.